Press room

JAMBINAI with the London Contemporary Orchestra 

Sunday 5 October 2025, 7.30pm 

Barbican Hall 

Tickets from £20 plus booking fee 

Korean post-rock band JAMBINAI make their Barbican debut with a rare UK performance in the Barbican Hall where they will be joined on stage by the London Contemporary Orchestra.  

Less like a band and more like a force of nature, JAMBINAI combine the full dramatic range of post-rock dynamics with Korean folk roots, creating a vivid fusion of genres. JAMBINAI’s instrumental music is coloured by intertwining traditional Korean instruments like the haegeum, geomungo, and piri with crushing guitars and cinematic textures bringing together post-rock, metal, jazz, folk and ambient textures. 

Formed in Seoul in 2009, JAMBINAI have earned international acclaim including five recognitions in the Korean Music Awards and given a breathtaking performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics closing ceremony. After captivating audiences during their sold-out appearance as part of K-Music Festival in 2023, they return to the UK ready to unleash a bold and immersive signature sound. 

JAMBINAI is Ilwoo Lee (Piri, Guitar, Taepyeongso, Saenghwang, Vocal), Bomi Kim (Haegeum, Vocal), Eunyong Sim (Geomungo), Jaehyuk Choi (Drums), and B.K Yu (Bass). 

Press praise for JAMBINAI: 

“Korea’s JAMBINAI impressed with their genre-blurring sound, applying traditional folk instruments to eruptive instrumental drone-rock reminiscent of Sonic Youth” (★★★★ The Times) 

“Drawing on post-rock and metal, they were soon astonishing audiences at festivals around the world as leaders of the new wave in Korean music” (★★★★ Evening Standard) 

“A triumph. Countless bands can switch from quiet to loud effectively; few do it with such overwhelming power as JAMBINAI” (★★★★ MOJO)  

Produced by the Barbican  

Part of the K-Music Festival 2025, presented in partnership with the Korean Cultural Centre UK. 

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ganavya: Daughter of a Temple 

Thursday 4 September 2025, 7.30pm 

Barbican Hall 

Tickets from £30 plus booking fee 

New York-born, Tamil Nadu-raised singer and transdisciplinary artist ganavya makes her Barbican debut with Daughter of a Temple, her critically acclaimed album released via Nils Frahm’s LEITER label.  
 
Showcasing her immersive fusion of spiritual jazz and South Asian devotional music, this special performance will see ganavya draw from the prayers of her celebrated recording Daughter of a Temple which features a host of talent including Esperanza Spalding, Shabaka Hutchings, Vijay Iye and Immanual Wilkins. The album was named BBC 6 Music Album of The Year by Gilles Peterson and listed in The Guardian’s Top 10 Best Global Albums of 2024. 
 
Audiences can expect a considered performance from this rising force as ganavya takes to the stage of Barbican Hall, accompanied by a host of soon-to-be-announced special guests.  

Generously supported by Trevor Fenwick and Jane Hindley 
Produced by the Barbican  
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